Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Over-fertilizing?, 0 by andycdn

andycdn wrote:
After seeing my rooted brug cuttings, my mother said, "These are weeds!" A wise comment from a lifelong gardener. Weeds are survivors... even if they are gorgeous.

I'm thinking that I'm going to treat my brugs as temporary residents in my gardens. The cuttings took so well, it's easier to take cuttings and grow them on than it is to get into the over-wintering and repotting cycle.I'm planning to set my over-wintered plants in the ground this spring, let them enjoy the root freedom, and take cuttings in the fall. Then I'll let the in-ground plants succumb to winter.

Where brugs grow naturally, they are trees. from what I can tell. Growing them in containers works for the first 2-3 years, but the natural habit of the plant is to get big. So my thinking is to let them do their best in containers and use cuttings as my main method of keeping them from year to year. It sure beats the heavy lifting!

We'll see how this experiment plays out. The photo shows a cutting after 2 months in a bucket. Now, three months later, they're thick with roots. I refresh the wter every 2-3 weeks and add a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide and have no rot.